6 November 2011
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Giving the future a voice
New online platform gives children a voice before 2011 Election

Bullying, gangs, domestic violence and relationships with police are just some of the issues that children and young people in New Zealand want sorted out says Save the Children New Zealand.

To understand young people’s perspectives and ideas in more depth, Save the Children New Zealand is launching Hear Our Voices Values Exchange, an online platform that allows young people to consider current issues and think about how they should be addressed. Users can then see their results in real time and compare them to what others have to say.

Save the Children is launching Hear Our Voices Values Exchange ahead of the 2011 Election, a time when adults are encouraged to have a vote and have their say on the future of New Zealand. As well as looking at issues that are important to them, young people can also vote on the key things they want the new government to consider.

New Zealand needs to hear and consider young people’s opinions and solutions to current issues and Hear Our Voices Values Exchange is a platform that will enable us all to tune in, consider and learn more about the informed and collective wisdom of young New Zealanders. They will be running this country soon enough and it is essential that they are respected and included now, says CEO of Save the Children Liz Gibbs.

“The Hear Our Voices Values Exchange promotes real democracy and over time we believe it will be an invaluable tool for government, business, communities and organisations to connect with young people and take their opinions and perspectives on board. We are playing our part in bringing these views to the nation” she says.

Save the Children is keen to encourage New Zealand children and young people to use Hear Our Voices Values Exchange to think through their responses to some of the issues for children that will be considered in the Green Paper for Vulnerable Children, and will present their views and opinions to government along with their own response.

The Hear Our Voices Values Exchange was created in partnership with Professor David Seedhouse, the creator and moderator of the Values Exchange, that he calls ‘social networking with brains’.

“Many young New Zealanders are familiar with an online environment, either at home or through school. Adults often believe that children and young people don’t understand issues. However, given the opportunity, young people will tell you a different story,” he says.

“I developed Values Exchange to allow children to communicate how they think and feel about issues. Children as young as seven can use it and as well as being a great communications vehicle, it is a great way for them to build their skills and form opinions about issues that affect them.”

Children and young people can sign up through their school or access the platform at http://savethechildren.values-exchange.co.nz/ or via Save the Children’s Facebook page.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

• Children and young people between the ages of 7 – 17 years old can sign up to the Hear Our Voices Values Exchange at http://savethechildren.values-exchange.co.nz/

• The Hear Our Voices Values Exchange is the next step in Save the Children’s Hear Our Voices We Entreat project and 22 representatives from our newly established Child & Youth Council (CYC) will be helping promote the new online tool and advocate for child rights in New Zealand.

• The Values Exchange was created by Professor David Seedhouse and is also used by universities, health services, engineers and schools in New Zealand, Australia and the UK.

• In 2010, Save the Children commissioned and published research called Hear Our Voices We Entreat, in which 199 children and young people highlighted issues that concern them. Save the Children launched the report at Parliament and took it to the UN as part of our obligation to report on the progress of the United Nations Council on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), to which the New Zealand government is a signatory.

• Members of Save the Children’s CYC have used the Hear Our Voices Values Exchange. Here is what some of them had to say :

• “I really liked how after I did my bit, I could view other people's opinions on the matter, and people brought up some things I didn't think of.” – FM

• “It is really well presented, and it was particularly helpful to have You Tube clips on the information page.” - BR

• “Completing it enabled me to see where I stood and why I thought what I did. I was able to develop a stance on an issue I previously knew barely anything about and I really liked being able to see the reports at the end and read what others wrote.” - KF

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